Metro’s board of directors will be changing yet again, with two new faces representing the District.
Councilwoman Muriel Bowser, Ward 4, appears slated to replace Ward 6 Councilman Tommy Wells, while lobbyist Thomas J. Bulger will take over At-Large Councilman Michael Brown’s alternate seat.
The moves came on Tuesday as part of a wide-ranging shuffle initiated by Council Chairman Kwame Brown.
A replacement for Michael Brown was expected as Brown had said last month he wanted to step down after serving about 2 ½ years on the board. He had the worst attendance record of any board member.
But the Bowser-Wells swap was a surprise — apparently even to Wells — as Wells joined the Metro board only in January.
Bulger’s nomination was unanimously approved Tuesday but met some skepticism. He is a registered lobbyist and president of Government Relations Inc., who has represented transportation-related groups such as traffic information company INRIX on Capitol Hill. He is apparently the first person to fill the council’s alternate seat who is not a D.C. council member, council members said.
“It concerns me that he’s not a commuter on Metro,” Wells said from the dais.
Wells said he would rather see someone from Ward 8 or 7, who is dependent on buses. “I will support Mr. Bulger, but I think it’s a missed opportunity,” he said before the vote.
The changes are just the latest on the Metro board. Only four of the 14 directors now serving were on the board during the deadly June 22, 2009, crash that prompted major upheaval at the transit agency.
Tom Downs, a former D.C. city administrator and Amtrak executive, holds the remaining D.C. seat. The city’s other alternate seat remains vacant.
Freeman Klopott contributed to this report.
